The Rise of Swimply: Pool & Backyard Rentals in 150 Cities with CEO, Bunim Laskin

From Overcrowded House to Million-Dollar Business: The Swimply Origin Story

What happens when you combine a 12-kid household, a sweltering New Jersey summer, and one determined 20-year-old with an entrepreneurial spirit? You get Swimply – the revolutionary pool-sharing platform that's transforming how we think about backyard resources and community connections.

In this episode of Pool Chasers Podcast, Bunim Laskin, founder and CEO of Swimply, takes us on an incredible journey from his humble beginnings of literally knocking on doors to building a $45 million company that operates in 150 cities worldwide. What started as a desperate need for pool access has evolved into something much more meaningful – a platform that's creating genuine human connections while helping pool owners turn their biggest expense into a profitable asset.

The Birth of an Idea: When Necessity Meets Opportunity

The Swimply story begins in 2017 with a crowded house and a creative solution. As Laskin explains the catalyst for his business:

In 2017, my mother had her 12th kid, the oldest of 12. So I have nine sisters and two younger brothers. I was 20 years old at the time. And when your house is that crowded, you find any excuse to leave early on... We're 12 kids in a four bedroom house and our neighbor owned a pool.

— Bunim Laskin, Pool Chasers Podcast

The neighbor was initially reluctant to share her pool, but when Laskin proposed helping with expenses in exchange for access, something magical happened. Within two weeks, the entire block was paying to use her pool. This organic growth pattern would become the foundation of Swimply's success story.

What's particularly striking about Laskin's approach is how he immediately recognized the broader potential. Instead of simply enjoying his family's pool access, he saw an opportunity to help others solve the same problem on a larger scale.

From Google Sheets to Global Platform: The Evolution of Swimply

The early days of Swimply were refreshingly analog. Laskin's first expansion involved finding 80 pools on Google Earth and literally running door-to-door (he didn't have a car) to recruit pool owners. His initial "platform" was decidedly low-tech:

I put my phone number around town. My siblings helped me post flyers around the city and pretty much saying, looking for a pool, stay cool and rent one. You'd call me. I call one of my owners. I call you back... I collect all the availabilities every Saturday night from all the pool owners and had a Google sheet, keeping track of everyone's availability.

— Bunim Laskin, Pool Chasers Podcast

This manual process, while cumbersome, created something unexpected – genuine excitement and community buzz. Even without photos, detailed descriptions, or instant booking, the service went "hyper locally viral" because it solved a real problem that people cared about.

Today, Swimply operates as a sophisticated platform with 35 different filters, allowing users to find pools based on specific amenities like barbecue grills, water slides, or shallow areas for children. The company has raised over $45 million and employs around 60 people across offices in multiple cities, including international expansion into Canada and Australia.

The Economics of Pool Sharing: More Than Just Money

One of the most fascinating aspects of Swimply is how dramatically the economics vary by location. The platform reveals interesting regional behaviors and preferences that reflect local culture and climate conditions.

In New York, where summer is precious and limited, customers are willing to drive 2-3 hours and pay premium prices – with average transactions around $450. Meanwhile, in Arizona where pools are abundant and the sun shines year-round, the average transaction is around $45, but usage is more frequent and lifestyle-oriented.

However, what surprised Laskin most wasn't about money at all:

When we surveyed our owners, and then in 2022, we asked them what their favorite part of Swimply was. And we just assumed there's always going to be the money. And money ranked at number two out of six things. It was always the people and giving back to people and how good they felt like their backyard went from this dormant sort of area to something just full of joy and laughter.

— Bunim Laskin, Pool Chasers Podcast

This human element has transformed many casual pool owners into dedicated hosts who earn $10,000-15,000 monthly by going above and beyond – offering magic shows, pizza nights, custom welcome signs, and even romance setups for special occasions.

Building Community Through Shared Resources

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Swimply isn't the technology or even the economics – it's the community building that happens naturally. Laskin makes an important observation about the "strangers" using these pools:

People refer to them as strangers, but you guys are coming from the same city, you both clearly love pools and probably send your kids to the same school or shop in the same grocery stores. So there's a very cool connection with every Swimply booking.

— Bunim Laskin, Pool Chasers Podcast

This local connection creates a fundamentally different dynamic than traditional vacation rentals. Instead of transient tourist interactions, Swimply facilitates ongoing community relationships. Pool owners report that their favorite aspect isn't the income, but watching their previously underutilized backyard transform into a space "full of joy and laughter."

The platform has evolved beyond simple pool rentals to become a comprehensive backyard experience marketplace. Creative hosts now offer additional services like tennis court access, barbecue facilities, and even entertainment options, turning their properties into mini recreational destinations for their communities.

Lessons for Entrepreneurs: Starting Simple and Scaling Smart

Laskin's journey offers valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly in the sharing economy space. His approach demonstrates several key principles:

Start with manual processes: Rather than building complex technology first, Swimply began with phone calls and Google Sheets. This allowed them to validate demand and understand user needs before investing in expensive development.

Focus on local viral growth: The early success came from word-of-mouth within specific communities, not broad marketing campaigns. This organic growth created stronger foundations than top-down expansion might have achieved.

Listen to your community: The discovery that money ranked second in host satisfaction surveys led to strategic decisions about platform features and community building that might have been missed with a purely profit-focused approach.

Embrace regional differences: Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all model, Swimply adapted to local preferences and usage patterns, allowing the platform to succeed across diverse markets from Arizona to New York to Portland.

The Future of Shared Resources

Swimply's success suggests we're entering a new era of community resource sharing that goes beyond the traditional sharing economy model. While Uber and Airbnb often feel transactional and impersonal, platforms like Swimply are creating ongoing community connections and transforming how we think about private property utilization.

The company's expansion into international markets and the consistently high satisfaction rates among both hosts and guests indicate that this model has significant room for growth. As urban density increases and private amenities become more expensive, the appeal of shared access to premium facilities will likely continue to grow.

For pool owners, Swimply offers a way to offset the significant costs of pool ownership while contributing to their community. For families without pools, it provides affordable access to recreational experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. But perhaps most importantly, it's creating the kind of neighborly connections that many communities have lost in our increasingly digital world.

The platform's evolution from a teenager's creative solution to a multi-million dollar company demonstrates that the best business ideas often come from solving real, personal problems in ways that benefit entire communities. As Laskin puts it, transforming dormant backyards into spaces of joy and laughter might just be "the best job on earth."

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Swimply and Bunim Laskin
• 05:30 The Origin Story: 12 Kids and One Pool
• 12:15 From Door-to-Door to Digital Platform
• 18:45 Regional Differences in Pool Sharing Economics
• 25:20 Community Building vs. Money Making
• 32:10 The Evolution of Hosts and Premium Experiences